


Obligatory Sickfic

by swtalmnd



Series: Jerk Punk Genius [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Unboxed - Amy Crook
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sickfic, soft warm good
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-11-12 04:50:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18004112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swtalmnd/pseuds/swtalmnd
Summary: Bucky wakes up with the flu. Turns out being sick isn't so bad when you've got soulmates to help you (not to mention Tony's hedonistic bathroom & mother hen AI).





	Obligatory Sickfic

**Author's Note:**

  * For [QueenThayet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenThayet/gifts).



> I know I said this series was complete but I haven't been feeling well for a few weeks and I wanted something soft, warm, and easy to rub my brain against, and thus, I gave Bucky the flu. I have no regrets.
> 
> Thanks to Dr. QT for being my reason to write. ;)

Bucky was annoyed when he was the first one to get the flu, especially since he was pretty sure Tony wouldn't actually slow down enough to keep from being second. Steve's immune system, like the rest of him, seemed to have taken the army as a challenge to grow into its best self, so it was even odds he wouldn't have to cope with it. Bucky hoped he wouldn't; Steve with the flu was basically the worst, not because he was whiny, but because it reminded him of being young and frail and helpless.

Bucky got up and swayed his way into the bathroom, sweaty and clammy and utterly disgusting. "JARVIS, is there a thermometer in here?"

"Your body temperature is 101.7 degrees Fahrenheit, sir," said JARVIS, sounding almost apologetic. "Will you require a doctor?"

"Nah, s'just the flu," said Bucky with a sigh. "Can you order me some meds? What time's it, anyway?"

"It is 4:37am. Mr. Barton is opening this morning, and I have taken the liberty of texting him your apologies." JARVIS's concerned voice was a balm, helping Bucky settle into the reality without trying to fight himself about needing the time off.

"Good job, man, thanks." Bucky sighed. "Can you give me a warm rainshower? If I rinse off, I'll feel better enough ta go back t'sleep, maybe."

The water started up, and Bucky went in and immediately sat down, letting the gentle warmth wash over him. His balance was usually good, even with the weight of his prosthetic, but he wasn't stupid enough to stand more than he absolutely had to. The shower did help his temperature even out, but after a while the waves of fever-sickness started him twitching, enough that he started to worry about the arm glitching.

"Water off, thanks," he croaked, his voice already starting to go. "Fuck," he swore softly. Warm air blew over him in lieu of the water that had stopped so gently he'd barely noticed, and Bucky took a moment to be grateful for his hedonistic genius of a soulmate. 

"Hey," came said soulmate's gentle voice, and Bucky became aware of not just Tony but Steve, awake but sleepy-soft through the bond, full of concern and love. "JARVIS says your meds are here, you want a hand? I brought clean clothes, and Steve's promised to rearrange the schedule so the shop's covered."

"Tony, you should be asleep," said Bucky, while at the same time sending dizzy gratitude through the bond for the way Tony's hands gently dried him with a huge, fluffy towel. Soft, warm, good, he thought. And then sighed, because he was pretty sure he'd said that out loud.

"You got it, Buckybear. Soft and warm is the perfect mood for a sick day." He helped Bucky up, got his hair dry, his arms, his entire oversensitive body gentled down from the misery it had been teetering toward. "You're gonna spend the day down in the lab with me. Steve's promised to add some sheets to the couch for you to get the bad kind of sweaty. Or the good kind, I'm not picky, really."

"Tony," said Steve, a laugh hiding beneath the chiding tone. "Don't sex Bucky up while he's sick, he shouldn't overexert himself."

"I'd do all the work," Tony protested, grinning impishly. "Grab those pj pants, will you?"

"I'd accept his affections like th'gentleman I am," said Bucky, feeling himself sway again. This time, though, Tony was there to catch him, to snuggle up close and kiss his nose.

Steve snorted. "You can barely keep yourself up, let alone your dick." He knelt down and helped Bucky into the pajamas, which should feel stupid but mostly just felt like being cared for. 

Tony said something in reply, but another wave of fever-dizziness swept through Bucky and he lost track of it, lost track of anything but the concern and love in his chest from both sides, the warm hands and gentle motion of being brought downstairs, propped up and cuddled and fed pills and tea and kisses in turn. He wanted to protest that they shouldn't kiss him but they'd already been exposed very thoroughly last night, so there was no point. 

Instead Bucky sank into their care, let them keep the sickness from dragging him down too far, let their soothing words and touches and love nudge him back to sleep.

He woke a few more times with all three of them there, got fed more pills and more tea and helped to the bathroom and back, though thankfully he was able to take care of things by himself once he was in there. He could sort of walk okay but then he'd take a step and the sick-dizzy-chills would run through him, turn his knees to water and fill his head with helium, and he would be grateful all over again to have strong hands keeping him steady.

Then, Bucky woke alone.

"It is 4:13pm and you are in sir's workshop," said JARVIS. "He is upstairs accepting an unexpected delivery."

"Thanks, J," rasped Bucky, his throat parched and sandpaper-sore. There was water on the table in front of him and he managed to gulp down enough to let him know the sore throat wasn't going away, so he flopped back and cradled the bottle against his hot face.

"...tells me you're awake, how're ya feeling? Ira wanted to come down, but I told him you'd murder me in my sleep if I let him catch your flu, so I managed to get away with accepting this on your behalf." Tony came into view coming down the workshop stairs, holding a tray full of takeout containers and silverware. "How's my Buckaroo?"

"Feelin' rode hard an' put away wet," said Bucky, hating how his creaky voice made Tony flinch.

"Good thing I got help," said Tony with a wink. "Dr. Brucie-bear came by and dropped off some Tamiflu for all three of us when he heard how hard it hit you, since JARVIS is a tattle-tale and I'm at special risk because of my heart and yadda yadda." Tony was sorting through the tray, which had prescription bottles nestled in among the rest, and soon enough Bucky had yet another pill to swallow. "He's taking Steve's down to the coffee shop and promised to bring us back something for everyone."

"He's that worried?" said Bucky, sitting up enough to accept the giant container of Ira's matzoh ball soup that Tony thrust at him next.

"You almost hit 104 earlier," said Tony, biting his lip. "And you were at my last consult with him, so you know, I mean. I can't catch this."

Bucky nodded. "Good job, JARVIS." He drank down a bit slurp of chicken broth straight from the container and sighed as it soothed his throat going down. "I'll take whatever he tells me if it'll keep you with us, babydoll." He stuffed an entire matzoh ball into his mouth.

"Yeah, he said he'd be using the same line on Steve when he protested," said Tony with a wry laugh. "Anyway, we've all been exposed, obviously, but the pills should keep it from hitting too hard or fast. He might take a sample while you're awake, just to confirm it's flu."

"Throat swab, maybe," said Bucky, swallowing thickly. "Feels like I deepthroated Stevie with a sandpaper condom."

Tony nearly snorted his soup.

By the time they finished eating, bantering back and forth the whole time with something like their usual spirits, Bucky was feeling done in. The soup was a warm, comforting weight in his stomach but his sinuses were starting to close up, and all he wanted to do was snuggle down into the comfort of his miracle couch and sleep some more. "Banner gonna be back soon?" he asked with a yawn.

"Dr. Banner is on his way to the elevator," said JARVIS. "He has approved a small amount of coffee for you to prevent caffeine withdrawal."

"Bless the fuck outta him," said Bucky, perking up.

Tony snorted a laugh. "Hopefully our Stevie sent us something special," he said fondly. "He's been getting better at the fancy drinks."

"He just needed some confidence and the right motivation," said Bucky, just as the elevator doors slid open.

"Good thing for us I'm excellent at that sort of motivation," replied Tony.

"Please do not elaborate," said Bruce. "I already know way more about your sex life than required to medically advise you."

"I'll be good if one a' those coffees is for me," rasped Bucky, reaching out and making grabby hands, a gesture he'd unfortunately picked up from Tony.

"Swab first, then coffee," said Bruce. 

Tony handed Bruce the sealed box, which made Bucky wonder why he had sterile swabs in his workshop in the first place, but Bucky still opened up obediently to have his throat poked at. Bruce shone a light in, too, then nodded and handed off a steaming cup of what smelled like mostly chocolate and milk.

"Doesn't look like strep, your throat's red but there's no white spots. I'll call with the results in half an hour or so," Bruce said, tucking the swab away. "I can use lab six, you said?"

"Yep, already called down, J will act as your chaperone in since you refuse to let me give you a permanent badge." Tony was already face-first in his own coffee. "And before you ask, we both already took our first dose."

"I have put the rest of their scheduled doses in my reminder queue," added JARVIS. Bucky was always a little amazed when Tony's AI sounded quite so human, and in this case, smug.

Bruce smiled and patted the wall on his way to the elevator. "Knew I could count on you, JARVIS. I'll call up with the results, Tony. Your AI did a good thing, calling me. You need to take care of yourself."

"I know," said Tony with a shrug. "I've got something to live for, now, so I'm being a good boy."

Bucky made a small noise at the thought, the memory of how little Tony had valued himself before they were there to love him. "He'll be good for us," promised Bucky.

"You're good for him," said Bruce, stepping into the elevator and letting the doors close.

Tony snagged a tablet and came over to join Bucky on the couch. "I'm gonna work from here today as much as I can, Pepper knows I'm taking a semi-sick week and Brucie-bear backed me up."

Bucky snorted. "How many meetings am I gettin' you outta?" he asked fondly, tugging Tony in and kissing his hair. He sipped his coffee, finding it milky-sweet with a hit of ginger that burned and soothed along with the richness of good chocolate.

"Three and a conference call," said Tony happily. "Pepper doesn't want the flu, either."

"Well, I'm happy ta have ya close, dollface." Bucky kissed his hair again and sipped his coffee, letting the tiredness drift on the edges of his awareness, ready to pull him under at any moment. "Wanna put a movie on?"

"JARVIS, something backgroundy," said Tony, already pulling up holograms on his tablet. "I've got some blue notes to deal with for R&D, and then I can chill awhile." After the success of the pink note protocol, Tony had started coding all his project notes -- blue was for feedback from what he lovingly termed his minions. Steve allowed it, mainly because the alternative had been 'lab monkeys.'

"I'll be asleep by then," said Bucky, "but you know I love watchin' you work."

"I love watching you sleep. Wait, that's creepy, isn't it?" said Tony, but he was grinning.

Bucky snorted. "I know you're not gonna go all Bluebeard on me, Tony. It feels good, havin' you close. Settles th'fever a little." He leaned into Tony more, opened himself up to Tony's whirling smarts and the core of him that had slowly grown solid and calm as it sank in that Bucky and Steve were his forever.

Tony kissed his cheek and settled in further, too, while a random episode of _How It's Made_ started playing on the wall. Bucky finished his coffee, cuddled up, and let himself fall asleep to the fireworks-feeling of Tony inventing, coupled with the more distant buzz of Steve's concern.

Everything might suck right then, but he knew as sure as anything that it would all be better soon, as long as the three of them had each other.

Well, each other and JARVIS.


End file.
